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08/24/2006
'Pro-fam's get around to acknowledging pro-gay Wal-Mart effort; shockingly, 'mazel tov' not their response
Responding to the news that Wal-Mart has partnered with the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, the Family Research Council's Tony Perkins has issued this quote:
"I don't think this is something that will sell on Main Street America, where most Wal-Mart stores are located" .. "I don't think cheap prices on goods from China will be enough to stop a rollback in their customer base if they choose to go down this aisle."
Following suit, the Concerned Women for America's Robert Knight says that the retail giant is...
"validating the idea that homosexual activists have the right to shake down corporations out of fear of being called bigots"
Responding to both, we say:
"So let's see -- Mr. Knight, you're suggesting that Wal-Mart only made this gay-friendly deal because militant homosexual activists pressured them into doing so. Yet, Mr. Perkins is trying to pressure the company into turning back on the pro-gay deal by warning that if they 'go down this aisle,' there will be 'a rollback in their customer base.' So you guys are jointly criticizing and accusing the company of succumbing to the same sort of intimidation tactics that your team's now using to persuade them to renege on the deal.
Furthermore, Mr. Knight suggests that it's a 'fear of being called bigots' that got the company to sign on to the deal in the first place, yet his buddy Perkins is implying that middle-American customers are going to stop shopping at the company SOLEY because they are somewhat embracing the gay community. Well guys...
...if you're going to stop patronizing a company simply because they are partnering with a community of humans that you find unsavory, then it's gonna be you guys who are undeniably taking the bigoted stance. And I know that those on the "pro-family" team will say that it's hypocritical for us to say that, since the gay community will boycott companies that introduce policies that reflect negatively on our community. But the difference is that in doing so, we're not showing partiality to our own group; we're demonstrating a desire to be non-controversially included as part of that large group of humans known as society. It's a seeking of exclusion for some that makes a conviction bigoted, not a goal of inclusion for all.
So Perkins and Knight, even though we know full well that on religious and political grounds, you guys don't support our community or our quests for equality. We get it! But we really can't for the life of us understand how you cannot see that your attempts to bully corporate America into following suit are discriminatory. Despite how many Sunday trips you've made to the store and how deeply religious your feelings towards "Sam's Choice" grape soda, Wal-Mart is not a church. It is a company that has a duty to support customer bases from all walks of life. This reach-out effort is merely a demonstration of that concept. However, you guys' attempts to prevent such reach-outs are demonstrations of your desire to infuse religion conviction into the land of low-priced toilet paper. Your arguments will never hold up."
Pact between Wal-Mart, gay group draws criticism [Palm Beach Post]
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